The history of baseball cards in Lubbock, Texas spans over 100 years, dating back to the early 1900s when the first baseball cards were produced by manufacturers. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from West Texas teams that played in Lubbock in the early decades of the 20th century.
While baseball cards were produced and collected nationwide starting in the late 1880s, it took a few decades for the hobby to really take hold in Lubbock and the surrounding South Plains region. One of the first mentions of baseball cards in Lubbock newspaper archives comes from a 1909 article discussing new cards featuring players from the Texas League, the minor league that had teams in Lubbock at the time.
In the following decades, as baseball grew in popularity locally thanks to the minor league teams and youth/amateur leagues, so too did the collecting of baseball cards in Lubbock. Stores like drug stores and general stores would stock new baseball cards as they were released each year featuring players from the major leagues all the way down to local minor and independent pro teams.
Kids in Lubbock would pool their allowance money and earnings from odd jobs to try and complete full sets of the most recent baseball cards. Trading and bargaining between friends to obtain the few missing cards to finish a set was a big part of the hobby. By the late 1920s and 1930s, organized baseball card shows and swap meets were even being held in Lubbock to facilitate trades and sales between collectors.
World War 2 saw a dip in baseball card production and collecting for several years, but the hobby roared back to life in Lubbock and nationwide in the post-war years of the late 1940s and 1950s. Lubbock native Bobby Layne was starring for the Detroit Lions in the NFL during this time and his football cards were highly sought after by collectors in his hometown.
The 1950s were the golden age of baseball cards in Lubbock, as in most of America. More and more kids were taking up the hobby, spurred on by the rising popularity of the major leagues and televised baseball games. Card shows in Lubbock drew hundreds of collectors. Stars on the Lubbock Pirates like Gaylord Perry further fueled local interest in card collecting.
The 1960s saw the introduction of color to topps baseball cards in 1963, taking the hobby to new heights. Teenagers and young adults in Lubbock were fully immersed in collecting, trading, and organizing their baseball cards. The city’s first dedicated baseball card shop opened in 1964, Baseball Card City, which was a haven for collectors for decades.
Into the 1970s and 1980s, baseball card collecting remained incredibly popular in Lubbock among both kids and adults. The rise of specialty/niche cards like those featuring Texas League alumni or former Lubbock high school players added new dimensions to the local hobby. The junk wax era of the late 80s saw a crash in the baseball card market that disrupted collecting for several years.
The 1990s saw a resurgence and new expansion of the baseball card market in Lubbock. Stores like Stadium Cards and The Sports Exchange opened to cater to collectors. Shows drew thousands. Chasing rare cards of Lubbock natives like Buddy Carlyle and Curt Schilling was a top priority. The rise of the internet also allowed Lubbock collectors to easily trade online.
In the 2000s-present, baseball card collecting has remained an entrenched hobby among Lubbock residents young and old. New independent shops like PlayBall Cards have emerged. High-end vintage Lubbock cards break records at national auctions. Online groups facilitate local trades and discussions. Despite the decline of minor league baseball, the rich history and tradition of baseball card collecting lives on strongly in Lubbock.
The baseball card collecting scene in Lubbock has evolved greatly over the past century plus, from a small niche hobby to a full-fledged collecting community. It has survived ups and downs in the industry and maintained its popularity due to the city’s deep roots in amateur, minor league, and high school baseball. Today, Lubbock’s collectors preserve and celebrate the rich baseball history of the South Plains through their baseball card collections, keeping the tradition alive for future generations.
